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Chapter 18 begins the conflict between Saul and David. Saul found himself in an un-attainable position. David always did whatever he asked and was always successful. Saul had made him Commander-in-chief of his army. David had become a national hero. Even Jonathan, Saul's son, loved David. They became blood brothers and Jonathan gave David his own personal robe and armament. The women didn't help either. They came out as David passed and sang, "Saul has killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands." So Saul became jealous and constantly kept a watchful eye on David.
When Saul disobeyed God and God took His Spirit from him, He gave him a "tormenting spirit" that at times overwhelmed him. This spirit had been tormenting Saul for some time. Jealousy and envy are the products of that spirit and will cause you to do things that you would not normally do. Saul could not bear to share the "limelight" with David, so his only recourse was to get rid of him. He devised a plan that he thought would work. He pretended "religious ecstasy" (he faked the indwelling of the Holy Spirit). He made the gestures and the motions of a Prophet. He hoped to captivate David with his performance and then kill him and charge it to "divine impulse", but David recognized the evil spirit and played his harp as he had done in the past, but this time it did not sooth the savage beast that Saul had become. Saul took his spear and hurled it at David but David stepped aside and it missed. Saul did this several times, always missing, until finally Saul banned David from his presence and demoted him to the rank of captain.
David continued to be successful in everything that he did because the Lord was with him. This pleased the people and angered Saul as he became increasingly afraid of David.
One day Saul offered his daughter Merab to David for a wife but David declined, even though one of Saul's daughters was rightfully his when he killed Goliath, saying that he was not worthy to be the son-in-law of the king. But Saul planned the wedding anyway. When the day arrived, Saul married her to another man. The man's name was Adriel from Meholath. We know nothing about this man accept that he was socially inferior. Saul hoped that this act of disrespect toward David would be such an affront to him that he would commit some foolish act of revenge or say something in his anger that the King could charge him with. But David was not hurt and he did nothing. This infuriated the King even more.
In the meantime Michal, Saul's youngest daughter, fell in love with David. Saul found out about it and he offered her to David as a wife. Saul saw this as another opportunity to get David killed. Saul enlists the help of his servants to lie to David about his feelings for David and to encourage him to accept Saul's offer of his daughter in marriage. But David knows that fathers always expect a dowry for their daughters and David did not have a dowry. But Saul instructed the servants to tell David that the only dowry he wanted was 100 foreskins from dead Philistines. Saul hoped that in the process David would be killed, but David fooled him. He and his men went out and brought back to Saul 200 foreskins. So David married Michal, Saul's youngest daughter.
David continued to be successful in his efforts against the Philistines and each day he became more popular with the people of Israel and more hated by Saul.
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